Plot
Urchin is the story of a child who lives in Scum City. When the Old Man came to Scum City, a homeless camp in the Manhattan tunnels, his story seemed wild. He was from a kingdom deep within the earth, he said, and was sent to find the five nobles who got lost up here. He had a map that would lead him and his followers back to this paradise, and a blue crystal called The Blessing, that when smoked granted the clarity and vision needed to complete great tasks.
Some believed. They were allowed to stay.
The Kid believes. Abused and tormented, he escaped the city shelter and fled to the streets, where he survived by wit and blood until he found Scum City. He will fulfil the Old Man's prophecy; he will get to paradise.
But someone else believes. The Old Man had a bodyguard once, a powerful little man called Goliath whose lungs and mind are rotting away. In his dementia he has committed to the ritual murder of innocents and the capture of the map held fast by the Old Man.
This is the story of a child trapped in a world of violence, degradation, wonder, and discovery. As he battles the evils of the street to save the Old Man and the future of Scum City he meets Julia, a young girl in need of protection. He struggles to decipher the true motives of the Old Man and Goliath, while safeguarding Julia and the map that leads to Paradise.
Goliath is a mythical character in the biblical Book of Samuel, described as a Philistine giant defeated by the young David in single combat. The story signified Saul's unfitness to rule, as Saul himself should have fought for Israel. Scholars today believe that the original listed killer of Goliath was Elhanan, son of Jair, and that the authors of the Deuteronomic history changed the original text to credit the victory to the more famous character David.
Valerie Jean Solanas was an American radical feminist known for the SCUM Manifesto, which she self-published in 1967, and for her attempt to murder artist Andy Warhol in 1968.
The Baker Street Irregulars are fictional characters who appear in three Sherlock Holmes stories, specifically two novels and one short story, by Arthur Conan Doyle. They are street boys who are employed by Holmes as intelligence agents. The name has subsequently been adopted by other organizations, most notably a prestigious and exclusive literary society founded in the United States by Christopher Morley in 1934.
Tokyo Godfathers is a 2003 Japanese animated tragicomedy adventure film written and directed by Satoshi Kon. The film is the third film that Kon directed, and the second film that he both wrote and directed. Unlike the previous two, Tokyo Godfathers stars live-action actors such as Toru Emori, Yoshiaki Umegaki, and Aya Okamoto as the lead voice actors.
Richard O'Sullivan is an English comedy actor, who is known for his role as Robin Tripp in the 1970s sitcoms Man About the House (1973–1976) and Robin's Nest (1977–1981) and as the title character in the period family adventure series Dick Turpin (1979–1982). He also starred in Doctor at Large (1971), Doctor in Charge (1972–1973), Alcock and Gander (1972), Me and My Girl (1984–1988) and Trouble In Mind (1991).
Charles Loring Brace was an American philanthropist who contributed to the field of social reform. He is considered a father of the modern foster care movement and was most renowned for starting the Orphan Train movement of the mid-19th century, and for founding Children's Aid Society.
Earth X is a 1999 comic book limited series published by American company Marvel Comics. Earth X was written by Jim Krueger with art by John Paul Leon. Based on Alex Ross' notes, the series features a dystopian version of the Marvel Universe.
Stones is the second book of short stories by Timothy Findley. It was first published by Viking Canada in 1988.
The Keys to the Street is a crime novel by British writer Ruth Rendell from 1996.
A treasure map is a map that marks the location of buried treasure, a lost mine, a valuable secret or a hidden locale. More common in fiction than in reality, "pirate treasure maps" are often depicted in works of fiction as hand drawn and containing arcane clues for the characters to follow. Regardless of the term's literary use, anything that meets the broad definition of a "map" that describes the location of a "treasure" could appropriately be called a "treasure map."
Remi, Nobody's Girl is a 26-episode Japanese animated television series by Nippon Animation, broadcast from 1996 to 1997 in Japan on the Fuji Television network as an installment to Nippon Animation's famed World Masterpiece Theater series. The show was directed by Kōzō Kusuba, with Michiru Shimada and Mayumi Koyama writing the scripts, Masaru Ōshima designing the characters and Katsuhisa Hattori composing the music.
Alfred Lennon, also known as Freddie Lennon, was an Englishman best known as the father of musician John Lennon. Alfred spent many years in an orphanage with his sister, Edith, after his father died.
The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack is an American animated television series created by Thurop Van Orman for Cartoon Network. It premiered in the United States on June 5, 2008. It stars Van Orman as the voice of Flapjack, a naive young boy who was raised by a whale named Bubbie and is mentored by a crusty old pirate named Captain K'nuckles. Together the trio spend their days in Stormalong Harbor, where most of the show takes place, whilst getting into mishaps on the search for the elusive Candied Island.
Creepshow 3 is a 2006 American comedy horror film, and a sequel to Stephen King and George A. Romero's horror anthology films Creepshow (1982) and Creepshow 2 (1987). It was directed and produced by Ana Clavell and James Dudelson. The film stars Kris Allen, A. J. Bowen, Emmett McGuire and Stephanie Pettee. Like its predecessors, the film is a collection of tales of light-hearted horror: "Alice", "The Radio", "Call Girl", "The Professor's Wife", and "Haunted Dog", although there is no EC Comics angle this time around. The film was panned by critics.
The Quran, the central religious text of Islam, contains references to more than fifty people and events also found in the Bible. While the stories told in each book are generally comparable, there are also some notable differences. Knowing that versions written in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament does predate the Quran, Christians reason the Quran as being derived directly or indirectly from the earlier materials. Muslims understand the Quran to be knowledge from an omnipotent God. As such, Muslims generally believe that the earlier versions are distorted through flawed processes of transmission and interpretation over time, and consider the Quran's version to be more accurate.
"Transitions" is the fourth episode of the fifth season of the HBO original series, The Wire. The episode was written by Ed Burns from a story by David Simon & Ed Burns and was directed by Dan Attias, who won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series for the episode. It first aired on January 27, 2008.
Fist of the North Star is a 1995 American direct-to-video science fiction martial arts film based on the Japanese manga of the same name by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara. The film was directed by Tony Randel, who also co-wrote the script with Peter Atkins, and stars Gary Daniels, Costas Mandylor, Chris Penn, Isako Washio and Malcolm McDowell. A Japanese dub of the film was produced by Toei Video which featured the cast of the 1980s anime television series reprising their roles.
Scum of the Earth Church is a non-denominational Christian urban church located in Denver, Colorado's arts district, in that city's Lincoln Park neighborhood. Its name is taken from 1 Corinthians 4:11-13, which includes Paul the Apostle's statement, "We have become the scum of the earth." As of December 2014, the Denver church was led by pastor Mike Sares.
Christopher Paul Gardner is an American businessman and motivational speaker. During the early 1980s, Gardner struggled with homelessness while raising a toddler son. He became a stockbroker and eventually founded his own brokerage firm Gardner Rich & Co in 1987. In 2006, Gardner sold his minority stake in the firm and published a memoir. That book was made into the motion picture The Pursuit of Happyness starring Will Smith.
